Hello,
I’m a happy new owner of a UK F35 cat ketch keel version. However the previous owner wasn’t able to tell me more about the construction. I have found little if not contradictory informations.
Does anyone knows if the ballast is lead or steel? Bolted or encapsulated?
Also if the hull is balsa core or solid GRP?
Thanks for your insights!
Mine is lead bolted. Hull is solid at least to the waterline.
Gregg
I looked at one of these some years ago; I had the impression that the ballast was encapsulated, but didn’t inspect it closely.
The centreboard version has most of the ballast in the ballast alongside the CB case, glassed in. The hull is balsa cored down to what would be the garboards in a wooden boat. This is great insulation and helps keep the boat free of condensation.
Gerald
Well done buying a Freedom 35. I am on my second 35 that I have bough privately. What year was your F35 built? 1980-82 will be Fairways Marine when I was MD. Mine is 1981, built by Fairways. Is your F35 lifting keel or fixed? If fixed, it was most likely built at the Western Yachts based in Penryn in 1983 onwards. Fairways built most Freedoms with balsa core. The ballast was encapsulated as far as I can remember.